Ignorant Historian

I’m an all-or-nothing person.  Probably always have been.  I don’t like things being halfway, don’t like unresolved issues or projects, and don’t like to commit partway.

I suppose this is the part of me that’s prone to addiction.  Once I have something I like, I want to have it again and again.  I go to the same restaurants over and over, ordering the same thing, until I find my new favorite thing.  This is why I stay away from drinking…why play with fire?

This blog topic was put forth by Rodney Olsen, as he answered the question I tweeted the other night (“Read, blog, or watch TV?”) with “Read a little, watch a little TV, then blog about it. :)”.  The idea repulsed me…how do you expect me to plan to split up my night?  A night should be devoted to one cause!

I realized that’s probably not a normal response.  That’s okay, I know I’m not normal.  But seriously, I do tend to devote my time like that.  Today will all be for reading, or blogging, or writing, or cleaning, or watching TV.  That sort of thing.  When I was a student, it was like playing whack-a-mole: I’d work on one class until I was ahead and then turn around and do that for another that I was behind on.

To be fair, this is more the “ideal” for me and not always how it works out.  I might decide to devote myself to reading, and then get the urge to watch an episode of House, so I’ll change my mind right there, stopping in mid-sentence.  But it’s always like that…a quick, instantaneous decision.  One moment I’m heading in one direction, then the next I’m heading in another.

Waiting to make a decision is hard for me.  I want to have my mind made up at all times, and usually do.  I guess I always want to have things figured out, even if it works out in a different way than I planned.  I’ve been working on a more godly, fruit-of-the-Spirit-filled decision making process.

My commitment to blogging is just like that.  I just can’t see doing it on and off again.  If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it.

So, how about you?  What kind of person you are?  How does it manifest itself?

Photo by massdistraction

By request, I’m going to talk about Turkish food today.  Turkish food is very Mediterranean (though I have never had Greek–I know!–it looks the same), and doesn’t have a lot of variety (all restaurants basically serve the same thing).

Here are my favorite Turkish foods:

1.  Tavuk Döner (Tavuk is chicken)

This is actually a popular dish that’s been exported throughout Europe, and is originally of Greek or Turkish origin (they fight over it like everything else).  It’s made on a spit like this:

The meat is then cut off and served with veggies on a sandwich or in a wrap (the bread is like pita bread).  This was my favorite meal in Ankara, but it doesn’t seem to be served the same in Izmir, the city I’ve visited on my last 2 trips.  It’s also super cheap…a meal including a drink (usually ayran, see below) would be just 2 or 3 dollars.  The rest of Turkish food is a bit cheaper than our food, but not a ton.

2. Kaşarlı pide (the “ş” makes an “sh” sound and the “i” without a dot is an “uh” sound instead of an “eye” sound)

Kaşar is the cheese that they use, and pide is a pizza-like dish (they have “real” pizza as well, that’s not a whole lot different than ours).  The crust is more like pita bread, and there is no tomato sauce on it.  My favorite has just cheese, or cheese and egg (sounds weird, but is good).

3.  Kaşarlı tost

If you’ve been paying attention, I bet you can figure out what this is.  Yep, it’s grilled cheese, but oh so delicious.  It was actually a humorous point of contention in our group as those of us who have been to Turkey before argued if this is a respectable dish or not.  After all, you wouldn’t expect a foreigner to come to America and order grilled cheese, would you?  Still, this is good as it’s made on a panini press with kaşar cheese.  It also is frequently served with tomatoes on it, but I don’t eat it that way.

4.  Tavuk şiş

That’s “shish” as in “shish kebab” for good reason.  Tavuk şiş is what we would call chicken shish kebab, made on a stick.  It may or may not be served on the stick, but that’s how it’s made.  I have no idea what spices they put on it, but it’s really good.  It’s frequently served with veggies: pepper, tomato, cucumber, and onion (the main veggies you see served).

And now for some things that I don’t love, but represent Turkey and so I have a fondness for:

1.  Çay (pronounced “chai”)

Çay is Turkish tea, something that you drink all the time in Turkey.  It’s served in little glasses like these (they might have a pattern of some sort, but often are just plain glass) and with a couple of sugar cubes.  Most meals end with it, of course you drink it during tea time, and you will be offered it anytime you visit someone’s shop or home.  There’s really nothing special about the tea other than the way it’s made, but it’s incredibly Turkish.

2.  Ayran

This is a drink that Turks drink with a lot of meals.  It’s cold, and is basically watered-down, salty yogurt.  It’s not pleasant to Western taste buds, but I can tolerate it, if not enjoy it.

3.  Turkish breakfast

Turkish breakfast is much heavier than what we’re used to.  Often has meats of unknown origin (hey, if something looks like it’s pork and you know it’s not, you have no idea what to think), hard-boiled eggs, cheeses, and breads.    Oh, and the traditional veggies of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions.

4. Gözleme

Gözleme has various ingredients in between layers of thin dough.  Might be meats, veggies, or cheeses.  The best one that I had this last time was spinach and cheese…who knew that I’d like it? (I’m not a fan of spinach.)  You have to go specific restaurants to get it, and are often served traditionally, sitting on cushions at a low table.

5.  Simit

Simit looks like a pretzel, but isn’t salty or buttery.  Instead, it’s covered with sesame seeds.  You can buy it at vendors on the street for half a lira (about 35 cents).

I’m sure there are things that I have overlooked and even things I haven’t tried.  They don’t eat a ton of beef (though they eat some), but eat a lot of lamb and chicken.  American fast food can be found all over the cities, and they regularly eat fries with most things.  Feel free to ask any questions!

Photos by ccarlstead, mawel, and Penny

Thanksgiving meal with people I love

(though I could say the same thing when I have Thanksgiving with my family later this week!)

First, Happy Birthday to my mom!

While I still can’t shake the feeling that the organic/natural food industry is one big scam, I have decided that I was going to start choosing to drink organic milk.

The bowl on the right is my first taste.  Of course, I chose the chicken route and decided just to have it on my cereal for the first time.  I couldn’t taste a difference, though the Raisin Bran didn’t taste very good (it was a store brand, though I haven’t had any Raisin Bran in a long time, so maybe I just forgot how hard it is.)

This has been a decision that has been a long time coming.  Over a year ago, I wrote about how my anti-organic attitude was changing.  While I was no longer compelled to ignore organic foods (I really should say foods labeled organic, as foods that are labeled organic legally can, and often times do, still contain non-organic ingredients), I hadn’t yet come to place of preferring organic items if it meant paying more.

Yet last weekend I bought my first ever half-gallon of organic milk, the first organic item that I bought though there was a cheaper alternative.  The irony is that I’ve chosen to go organic in the one organic item that makes me giggle (I have a strange sense of humor, but when I read “organic milk” I imagine someone feeding the cow manure and withholding it pesticides).  The reason why I’ve chosen milk is that I believe that there is some validity to the connection of dairy cows given hormones and girls maturing at much younger ages.  Perhaps we’re wrong, but I can’t see what it hurts to pay maybe $25-50 more a year on going organic on this one item.

Have your thoughts changed towards going organic?  Why do you choose organic/non-organic items?

Today’s our last full day in our old office.  We’ve been here 2 1/2 years, which seems both short and long.  The mere fact that I’ve been with this company for over 4 years amazes me…I had no idea I’d stick around this long, especially with no plans to leave for some time.

Since we’re leaving, I thought I’d reflect on what I’ll miss and not miss about this old place!

What I’ll miss about the old office:

The people. The office (there’s many different companies in these corporate suites) is overwhelmingly male, but I have had the opportunity to make friendships with a few women.  I’ll miss them.

Having someone to answer the phone. Likely, this will be my new/old responsibility at the new place (I was originally hired as a secretary, and way back when that was my sole responsibility).

Proximity to some good restaurants. I’ll definitely miss the Chinese place nearby, which has some of the best fast food Chinese I’ve had.  I also like having Chick-fil-a and Sonic handy, but it’ll probably be a good thing not to have them.  At the new place the Cheesecake Factory is close by, so I could develop some new fatty/expensive tastes…

What I won’t miss about the old office:

The longer commute! I’ll have 2 1/2 days a year that I can do something else other than sit in traffic.  And $300/year (at today’s gas prices) to spend on more exotic traveling.

Being cramped like sardines. As convenient as it is to ask a question by simply turning one’s head, I’ll like the more private offices.  Though mine will still be the central location, no one else (until our volunteers come in January) will be regularly working out of that space.

The clutter. Since my office will be mine, I set the rules on how much clutter will be allowed.  It won’t be much!

So, it seems like this is definitely a good thing.  I’m excited for tomorrow!

Monday morning, I didn’t know what would hit me.  But by Monday afternoon I had decided (all my decisions are of-the-moment, though these are things I’ve been thinking about for weeks in the back of my mind):

a.) I did want to take the 8:30-5:30 shift (working 1/2 hour earlier) that was offered me over a month ago.

b.) I am ready to commit to getting healthy instead of just thinking/talking/putting it off.

For me, these two decisions go hand-in-hand.  In the 4 years I’ve been working the same hours (and to think before that my shifts changed DAILY), I’ve gotten lazy, taking more time than needed in the morning.  This just wasn’t cutting it.  I’m all for relaxing, but dragging out what should take 30-60 minutes into an 1 1/2 hours, sometimes even more, is ridiculous.  I just simply wasn’t starting off the day on the right foot.

So as I was thinking about building better habits into my life, I realized that if I changed my schedule, I could have a new start at better starts to my day.  So far I’ve done this twice, and I’m enjoying it.  Working earlier does mean a little more traffic, but getting home earlier (and to bed earlier!) helps me be a happier and–along with the other changes in my life–healthier person.

The big commitment I made Monday was to join SparkPeople.  I’ve been contemplating it for ages and have heard good things about it, but I just took the plunge.  I love that it allows me to easily track my meals (most foods’ nutritional information is pre-loaded into the system already), track my exercise, and track my water consumption.  There are plenty of encouraging/informative articles and things too (some are a little too just-love-yourself-more for my taste).

Isn't my water bottle cute? Bonus: it's better for the environment than those dumb styrofoam cups!

I’ve been doing this for a couple of days now, and though it’s a bit premature, I think it’s going to work for me.  It appeals both to my competitive nature (you can earn points and it keeps track of “streaks”–how many days in a row you’ve done your self-selected goals) and my visual, analytical side (it makes graphs for you).  I also like how it’s not pushing me…my beginning goals are each day to go for a walk, write in my journal, eat 2 fruits/veggies, sleep 8 hours/night, and drink half my weight in ounces (which is umm, a lot!).  These were pretty much my goals before, I just am now getting visual accountability for them.

While I need to lose weight, my real goal is to be healthy.  I’ve been overindulgent, and when I am overindulgent in one area of my life, I am in all areas of my life.

As an out-of-the blue bonus of these changes?  Don’t tell anyone, but I didn’t “need” a Diet Dr Pepper in the afternoon the last 2 days (though I still drank one on Tuesday, anyway)!  That’s a habit I’ve had for almost half my life…

These past few months, I’ve found myself stocking up.  It’s not been a conscious attempt, yet every time I look in my pantry, there’s more and more of the basic foodstuffs (I love that term) that I live on.

I think this stocking up can be attributed to the questionable economy and the always-possible layoff (though there’s absolutely no indication from corporate that this is anywhere in the future…and remember that “corporate” sits 8 feet away from me, so I’d know).  If I lost my job today, I’d like to be able to severely cut down my grocery budget (not to mention my 24 and Diet Dr Pepper budget) to just the perishables (and once again, Diet Dr Pepper isn’t exactly a perishable).

This has gotten me thinking, in what other ways has the economy influenced my behavior without me realizing it?  How about you?

Photo by Gilles Gonthier

Thanks for sticking with me last week.  It was rough, but the good kind.  Saturday night after Power Camp and all wedding activities were done, I crashed and slept a solid 10 hours.

Sleep is definitely a great pick-me-up, right?  But Friday I got another one…

A surprise package from my parents!

I opened it and found two of my favorite things from home…

Cucumbers fresh from my dad’s garden

(oh that’s a lovely picture…I was on my way to my last day of camp!)

and flannel pajama pants fresh from my mom’s sewing machine!

I wish I had video of me opening the package, because I definitely squealed!  Cucumbers are my favorite veggies, and I ate at least one a day in the summer growing up, either plain or creamed (2 parts whipping cream, 1 part vinegar).  It’s a running joke every time I talk to my parents that they are eating cucumbers, so it meant a lot that they took the time/money to send them to me.

As far as the PJ pants, I had already hinted on the blog that my old pairs were getting very thin.  That happens after you wear them everyday for a couple of years!  So obviously, I was quite happy to get three new pairs: one with monkeys, one with frogs, and one with ladybugs.

Thanks, Mom and Dad!

I had to look up this morning how to fold a simple airplane.  I’m such a girl.  (It’s part of my lesson at Power Camp tonight.)

Is it normal to always have adventurous dreams?  It always seems like me dreams involve some kind of adventure: trying to escape from burglars (or being the burglar myself), going on a trip, or trying to figure out a mystery or crime.

I actually cooked for the first time in months this weekend.  Being single, it’s not really worth the effort to do more than throw something together.  I think I’m really going to try to make it a weekly thing like I used to, if only to have leftovers to take to work.

Tonight starts Power Camp.  I received the names of the children in my huddle yesterday,  or at least the ones that have already registered.  Thirteen so far, and I only know who 2 of the children are, so most are unaffiliated with our church.  Only 3 are girls, too, which I’ve grown accustomed to as that was about the gender breakdown of our Sunday school class this year.  I’m excited!

Today my care group from church went to a local food bank to help out.  Our task?

Putting over a 1,000 dozen eggs in cartons.

It was a lot of fun, and actually didn’t take as long to do since there were so many of us.  I personally probably packed up several dozen cartons of eggs.  We had to make sure they were clean and uncracked…I don’t think I’ll look at an egg the same way again.

Afterwards we headed to Sonic to enjoy one another’s company, and there I shared my story about Polite Video Store Dude.  They definitely keyed in on the fact that it was a amicable guy that I was rude to.  Yeah, they know me (and my issues) too well…